What a beautiful day today. It dawned clear and sunny, with blue skies and a warm temperature of 17 degrees predicted. We were itching to get out and about in the huge Kenrokuen gardens here. We'd enjoyed them hugely in 2019. That time we visited in March and the cherries were in blossom. This time around the aim was to view the azaleas in full bloom.
However, the first order of the day was to try to check out a second-hand shop that we missed yesterday, and in so doing had a lovely wander around the historic part of Kanazawa. This is pretty touristy but it is stunning. Unfortunately the shop was closed for the day, but we enjoyed strolling around the area and came across another old shopping area (and cafe) quite by chance.
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| Part of the historic area |
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| Residential area - a bit more upmarket than elsewhere, and clearly very old |
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| A couple were posing for wedding photos. The kimono was magnificent. |
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| If they were wedding photos, then the older generations in the party were in very casual looking gear. Father with his thumbs up was clad in full denim. |
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| A morning cup of tea and coffee served in beautiful ceramic ware |
Also, by chance, we came across a gorgeous little corner park, Hikoso Ryokuchi Park, with all of its azaleas and peonies in full flower. We have come across virtually no neighbourhood parks before, and only a couple of children's playgrounds. Perhaps gathering in a public space in the local neighbourhood is not part of Japanese culture. Any reserves tend to be shrine or temple complexes or very large public gardens. So it was with delight that we came across this space, complete with colourful flowers in full bloom, and also a group of young children being taken for a walk.
By noon we were ready for lunch and John was very keen to try one of the few eateries close to our accommodation. Tabe-dokoro Osugi was only open for lunch and was very highly rated. As with so many of these restaurants, it was very small inside. The older Japanese woman who served us immediately handed over an English menu and proceeded to talk to us in rapid Japanese. We very easily opted for the set menu, with offered a variety of dishes - 6 little bowls of vegetables, rice, fish, miso soup and the rest. As anticipated, it was delicious.
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| Lunch |
It was time to visit the gardens. Kenrokuen is another of the strolling-style landscape gardens typical of the Edo period (1600-1870). It was developed over the centuries by the feudal lords who lived in the famous Kanazawa Castle, right next door across the then moat, now a road.. It is considered to be one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan, if not No.1, and it is certainly the best we have visited.
Our first impression on revisiting was a bit of a feeling of disappointment. The azaleas were well short of peak blooming despite late April being said to be their peak. I think I have read somewhere there are 17,000 azaleas in the gardens, but very few were blooming. Strangely, across the road in the Kanazawa Castle grounds they were totally out. Even so, Kenrokuen was superb. The vistas, lakes, lanterns, moss gardens and sheer size are all outstanding. Last visit was in later winter, and there was no bright green apart from moss to be seen. This time the spring growth was everywhere, and the moss particularly vibrant. Well worth the visit.
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| Tea-houses |
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| Making sure the moss is the right type |
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| The very last of the cherry blossoms |
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| Some red azaleas were in part or full blossom but none of the other colours |
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| This two-legged lantern is the symbol of the gardens |
Having enjoyed the gardens, we crossed over the road/moat into the castle grounds. This was an enormous area, surrounded by massive defenses, which used to be covered in wooden buildings. There was a huge fire in 1631 that took all of these out in one massive conflagration, and not many were rebuilt.
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| Massive entry gates into a defended courtyard |
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| Note the azaleas! |
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| And the castle's own rather nice little garden |
